Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories
USA Presidential voters on electoral college map

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Federalism at Its Best

​People arrive at a polling location on the first day of early voting in Texas

Early voting records should scare GOP

US Senate candidate Dan Osborn

7 Independent Campaigns to Watch in the Final Days of the Midterms

​Border patrol SUV

How Border Policies Are Reshaping South Texas Politics

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico

Are Independent Voters About to Flip Texas?

May 5 primary ballot issues affect Ohioans' daily lives

News

May 5 primary ballot issues affect Ohioans' daily lives

In 2024, 87% of Congressional races were decided in primary elections – meaning the 7% of voters who participated in these elections effectively chose the majority of the U.S. House, according to data from the Unite America Institute.

(Adobe Stock)
Nadia Ramlagan
By Nadia RamlaganApr 27, 2026
Nadia Ramlagan
Nadia Ramlagan is a contributor for The Fulcrum, a nonpartisan publication dedicated to strengthening democracy by fostering informed civic engagement and elevating diverse perspectives.
See More Writings by author

Ohio voters often skip primary elections but one expert said decisions on the ballot affect residents' daily lives.

Ohio’s primary election will be held May 5. According to research from the Bipartisan Policy Center, only 19% of voters cast ballots in the 2022 midterms.

Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said primary ballot issues and candidates can affect everything from public school and fire department funding to how local governments tackle housing affordability.

"Last year in Middletown, voters were trying to fund their school district and they lost by five votes," Miller pointed out. "What this shows us is that a lot of times voters are not showing up to primaries."

This year, voters will elect a new governor and select officials for state-level executive positions. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Primary Election Day. Voters will need to bring valid photo ID.

Miller added voters in the Buckeye state now have more options when it comes to requesting primary ballots.

"This year, Ohio voters can choose a Republican, Democratic, Libertarian or issues-only ballot," Miller outlined. "When you go to vote, as long as you're registered, you can ask for any of those four ballots to make your voice heard."

April 28 is the deadline to submit absentee ballot applications to local board of elections, either by mail or by delivering in-person. Early voting has already begun and will continue through May 3. A full list of early voting locations and dates can be found on the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.

May 5 primary ballot issues affect Ohioans' daily lives was first published by PNS and was republished with permission.

Nadia Ramlagan is a producer with Public News Service. She covers the Ohio Valley and Appalachian region for Public News Service (Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia).


Latest news

woman enters a building to vote
Elections

Political Accountability Begins Before Election Day

Nigeria flag, elections, ballot box, casting vote.
Elections

As Nigeria Prepares to Vote, Years of U.S. Democracy Support Face a New Test

Headshots of people
Elections

Taxpayer-Funded, Closed to Millions: The Growing Push to Reform Kentucky’s Primaries

Read More

Americans Voting in an Election

Americans Voting in an Election

Getty Images

Voting Is Not Just a Privilege It Is Every Citizens’ Responsibility

Despite the consistent determinations that US elections are secure across the country and there is virtually no evidence of non-citizens voting, in reports released as recently as September 2026; President Trump has doubled down on his claims that voter fraud is a major problem in America and on October 20th, he announced a new $25 Million Fraud Whistleblower program to be administered by the Department of Justice.

This announcement achieves a variety of the president’s goals: (i) It intentionally perpetuates the misinformation, that voter fraud is a serious problem in the United States; (ii) it undermines the trust in the voting systems, as well as in the states administering the elections; (iii) it fosters distrust amongst neighbors, who are more likely to suspect people of color and report them for a reward. This has the concomitant benefit of (iv) intimidating people who are in fear of going to the polls and (v) It gives the illusion that the federal government is prepared to give away more free money (along with the Tariff rebate checks, the Trump Accounts, the DOGE dividend, the direct payments for healthcare and the $5,000 for supporting GOP midterm candidates.)

Keep ReadingShow less
Capitol building with American flag behind it

Political Polarization and Extremism

Getty Images

Both Parties Have Forgotten How to Lose: It’s Time for Guardrails

On November 3 Americans vote in the midterm elections, and the most important question may be whether the losers accept the result. A Pew survey this summer found that just 55 percent of Americans are confident the midterms will be run fairly and accurately, down from 64 percent in 2022. The partisan detail is more revealing. Since 2024, Republican confidence has risen and Democratic confidence has fallen from 77 percent to 58 percent. Trust in the referee now depends on who holds power.

Democracy rests on a kind of sportsmanship agreement. The theologian Reinhold Niebuhr put it well: man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but his inclination to injustice makes it necessary. B. R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of India’s constitution, called democracy a method of bringing revolutionary change without bloodshed. Both understood that the system works only if the losing side agrees to try again next time instead of burning down the field. Americans in both parties are forgetting how to do that.

Keep ReadingShow less
A person receiving a "I voted" sticker

After voting for the first time, the proud mother puts an "I voted" sticker on her daughter.

Getty Images

The Surge of Independent Voters: Why Open Primaries Are Democratically Necessary

Across the United States, traditional political affiliations are shifting as a growing segment of the electorate steps away from major-party labels. Jeremy Gruber, senior vice president at Open Primaries, a national nonpartisan organization dedicated to expanding nonpartisan voter access, highlighted this dramatic evolution in voter registration and the structural hurdles these voters face in the latest episode of The Fulcrum Roundtable.

The decline in major-party allegiance is not temporary but a sustained movement that has been building over several decades.

Keep ReadingShow less
Person holding "Vote" sign.

Person holding "Vote" sign.

Photo provided

Latino Voters Shift Ahead of Midterm Elections

Two years after providing historic levels of support that helped propel Donald Trump back to the White House, Latino voters are shifting rapidly away from the Republican Party. The realignment is driven by a potent combination of persistent economic anxieties and a sharp backlash against the administration’s aggressive domestic immigration crackdowns. A landmark national poll conducted by NBC News and Telemundo reveals that the President’s approval rating among registered Latino voters has plummeted to just 27%, signaling deep political turbulence for the GOP on the eve of critical midterm elections.

When asked by reporters outside the White House about the plunging numbers, President Trump angrily dismissed the data, labeling the findings as “fake news.”

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026